Tag: Black Homeowners of TC

In lieu of a February Black History post, WSIC continues, because it is Black History.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 53 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 53 Bates NW to Mrs. Claudia McConnell Bailey.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Mrs. Bailey borrowed $2,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 53 Bates St NW to Ellen and L.J. McClure.
• December 1950 the McClures borrowed $2,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1962 Mrs. Bailey was released from her mortgage.
• November 1966 the McClures were released from their mortgage.
• November 1971, Mrs. Bailey, the heirs of LJ and Ellen McClure and  their spouses (Arthur and Mittie Elizabeth M. Jackson, Henrietta and Teamer McClure) sold the whole of 53 Bates to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• July 1978 there is a contract (doc 7800024140) between the DC RLA and the Bates Street Associates, Incorporated (BSA) There is no corresponding deed located, but the property was transferred to BSA.

It starts off well. The original buyers purchase their halves. They pay off the mortgages and they are able to pass it on to their children or sell it. And they all sell to DC RLA who then sells/ transferred it to BSA.

Mrs. Bailey may have been separated from her husband Matthew Bailey. They were married October 20, 1943 in Washington, DC. He was 50 years old and she was 44. They are captured in the 1950 census where they lived at 917 8th St NW(?). He was a caretaker for an apartment building and she worked as a clerk for the War Department. In the census they are the same age, 57 and both from North Carolina.

In lieu of a February Black History post, WSIC continues, because it is Black History.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 27 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded February 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 27 Bates St NW to Elizabeth and Theafers Kidd.
• December 1950 the Kidds borrowed $1,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1956, the Kidds lost their half (the other half wasn’t sold) to foreclosure and Evans, Levin, and Taube repossessed the property via an auction.
• March 1959 (doc# 1959019387) Badt, Evans, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold 27 Bates St NW and other properties on the block to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• Between 1971-1972 Basiliko was released from three mortgages and the next document has the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) as the owner, so we are left to assume around 1970 Basiliko sold the property to RLA.
• Around 1978 the DC RLA sold/transferred this and other properties to the Bates Street Associates. A contract (doc #7800024140) DC RLA and Bates Street Associates, Inc hints to a deed I can’t locate.

So that was a bit unusual. The loan $1900 was the lowest price I’ve seen, but even then, there was a foreclosure. Then the usual pattern goes on as the property passed from Basiliko, to DC RLA then to Bates Street Associates.

Theafers Kidd was a 25 year old African American truck driver for a food store when he and wife Elizabeth (nee Stevenson) purchased half of 27 Bates Street NW. Mr. Kidd’s first name has several variations. With Social Security it is Theafers and Thofice. I have found Thofice, Theafeis, Theafus, and Theophilus. Whatever his name was he was born March 27, 1925 to Daw Kidd and Dannie Porter in Lower Crack /Low Peach Tree, Alabama.

He and Elizabeth married March 5, 1945 in Jefferson. AL. They must have made their way to DC as they and their children appear in the 1950 census. In the 1950 census the family lived at 3624 11th St NW Apt. 10. Mr. Kidd was a truck driver. Mrs. Kidd was a housewife caring for their two children, 4 year old Anna and infant Theofus Jr.

In lieu of a February Black History post, WSIC continues, because it is all Black History.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 23 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded February 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold all of 23 Bates St NW to Lloyd A. and Phoebe M. Lyles.
• December 1950  the Lyles borrowed $3,800 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• November 1952 the Lyles sold half of the house to Archie D. and Ruth Lee Ferguson.
• Nov 1952 the Fergusons borrowed $1,769.95 from Colonial Mortgage trustees Levin and Weightman.
• December 1952 the Fergusons borrowed $1,938.68 from trustees Vivian C. Kent and Hugh Valentine.
• March 1953 the Lyles sold their remaining half back to Evans, Levin and Taube. They were released from their mortgage May 1953.
• June 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube sold the reclaimed unit to Fred J. and Margaret E. Shepard.
• June 1953 the Shepards borrowed $2,903.36 from Levin and Weightman.
• August 1961 the Fergusons lost their half to foreclosure. Through an auction Evans, the survivors of Nathan Levin, and Taube gained possession.
• November 1961, as part of a large property package (doc 1962000416), Badt, Evans, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold 23 Bates to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• November 1978 George Basiliko Inc sold his half to Frederica E. Shepard, Fred and Margaret’s daughter.

So only one foreclosure and half of the house was in Basiliko’s portfolio. The good news was that the property eventually was owned by the Shepard family in its entirety.

In 1950 Fred and Margaret (nee Williams) lived at 1612 9th St NW with several other relatives. Fred was a 29 year old truck driver. Margaret was a housewife taking care of their two children, Fredrica Ellen and Shirley Ann. Eventually they had three according to Fred’s obituary when he died at Doctor’s Hospital in 2010.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 15 Bates St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold the whole of 15 Bates St NW to Jessie I. Johnson, married and Maude Y. Ryles, widow.
• Jan 1951 Johnson and Ryles borrowed $6,050 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• July 1963 Ryles and Johnson borrowed $6,600 from the Perpetual Building Association with trustees Junior F. Crowell and Samuel Scrivener Jr.
• October 1963 Ryles and Johnson were released from their Jan 1951 mortgage.
• October 1963 Ryles and Johnson benefited from the release of a loan taken out by Evans, Levin and Taube in November 1950.

This appears to work as promised. No foreclosures, no slum lords, no redevelopment agencies.

I found the Maude Ryles lived at 15 Bates Street NW according to the 1954 city directory. The rest of her history, I am not 100% about, but here’s my best shot. She may have been Maude Ann Yancey as a 1961 obit for Mariah H. Yancey mentions Maude Ann Ryles as the stepmother to her and several other girls and the foster mother of George Jordon of New York. So that’s where I guess the Y is for. In the 1950 census she was living at 62 Q St NW, Apt. 2, with a roommate and working as some sort of operator for Veteran’s (Affairs?). She died June 1980 and according to the Social Security Death Index she was born May 13, 1902, however her grave differs saying she was born in 1903.

According to the obit on the Find a Grave site, Jessie Y. Johnson was her sister. So I looked for her in the 1954 city directory and found her at 15 Bates Street NW. It appears she was an examiner for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In the 1950 census, she too was living at 62 Q St NW, but Apt 1. She was living with her husband Chester Arthur Johnson and 20 year old daughter Iris.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 31 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 31 Bates St NW to divorcée Helen L. Campbell.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) Campbell borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 31 Bates St NW to Rosa Abbitt.
• Dec 1950 Abbitt borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1961 Campbell was released from her mortgage.
• September 1961 Abbitt was released from her mortgage.
• November 1, 1963 Abbitt died.
• May 1962 Susie Monroe Williams, Abbitt’s sole heir, sold her half to Orson L. and  Vera D. Huntsman.
• February 1971 the Huntsmans sold their half to George Basiliko.
• December 1971 there was a “Notice of Lien” placed on Campbell’s half where her heir Irene C. Gregg was named by the DC Department of Public Welfare. From what I can tell, Ms Gregg was receiving assistance from the city and the city made a claim on her house.
• October 1974 Gregg sold her half to George Basiliko and now he owned the whole property.
• February 1975 the DC Department of Human Services, Social Service Administration. Examination and Compliance Division released the lien.
• August 1978 Basiliko sold 31 Bates St to the Bates Street Ventures Partnership.

No foreclosures. The original buyers paid off their mortgages. It was fine until the property was sold to George Basiliko.

Abbitt was mentioned as a widow in the land records. She was a divorcée. I located a Virginia divorce record for 1963. Rosa Williams Abbott of 11A Bates Street NW (why not 31?) divorced George Elbert Abbott. The record said they had been separated since April 1942. For his WW2 draft card, he was living with his wife at 318 New Jersey Ave NW, Apt 4. They were both from Prince Edward County, Virginia. In the 1950 census she lived alone at 1131 D St NE. She worked as a charwoman at the US General Services Agency.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 51 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 51 Bates St NW to Louise V. Brown a widow, and Bertha E. Oliver, separated.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Brown and Oliver borrowed $2,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 51 Bates St NW to Christine B. Gregg.
• Dec 1950 Gregg borrowed $2,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• September 1961 Brown and Oliver were released from their mortgage.
• April 1962 Gregg was released from her mortgage.
• August 1972 Gregg (husband Jessie Charles Gregg mentioned but unsigned), Brown and Oliver sold 51 Bates to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) for $13,000.
• June 1980 (doc #8000020294) the DC RLA sold/transferred this and other properties to BSA Limited Partnership. BSA is possibly short for Bates Street Associates. It is paired with doc #8000020221 a contract between DC RLA and BSA Ltd Partnership.

No foreclosures. No known slum landlord. Original buyers were able to pay off the mortgages. This was a good story. However they did sell the property to DC RLA which makes me wonder if the properties were in bad shape.

According to a 1960 city directory Christine Bennett Gregg was a nurse living at 51 Bates Street NW. She could have been the same Christine Gregg in the 1950 living as a lodger with the Maynard family at 1443 Q St NW working house worker for a private family. She was 37, separated, and born in North Carolina. Her husband, and it looks like a case of abandonment, was a Pullman porter according to his WW2 Army Enlistment record. She retired as a licensed practical nurse. She died in 1993 in North Carolina.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 55 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 55 Bates St NW to Ruth C. Morris.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Ms. Morris borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 55 Bates St NW to Rodena Hood.
• Jan 1951 Ms. Hood borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• October 1952 Ms. Morse sold her half to the widow A. E. Pickett.
• September 1956 Ms. Hood lost her half to foreclosure. It was repossessed by Badt, Evans, and Taube via an auction.
• Sept 1956 Harry A. and wife Jennie Badt sold/transferred their interest in the property to Nathan Levin’s survivors.
• June 1959 (doc #1959024641), as part of a large property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors, and their spouses sold 55 Bates to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• June 1963 Ms. Morris, and by extension Mrs. Pickett, was released from her mortgage.
• October 1965 Mrs. A. B. Pickett borrowed $5,959 from the United Mortgage Company represented by trustees A.J. Mascetta and Ralph O. Weed.
• December 1979 George Basiliko, Inc sold his half to Otis B. Womack.
• December 1985 the Estate of Otis B. Womack transferred the half to Otis’ brother James E. Womack.
• June 1985 the estate of A.B. Pickett sold her half to James E. Womack.

This has two elements of the pattern with one mortgage and the sale of that foreclosed unit to George Basiliko. But it was not sold to the DC Redevelopment Agency and avoided that part of the cycle.

For some reason the name Otis Womack seemed familiar, so I Googled it. I no longer have a Washington Post subscription, but it’s one of the first things to pop up with a story from October 24, 1981. Otis Womack was the owner of the Little Florida Avenue Market at 141 Florida Avenue NW when he was shot dead in a robbery. His name is also buried in a 1981 Congressional document regarding gun violence. His son Wayne Ellis David, an MPD officer, died recently in 2024, in a tragic accident when he attempted to retrieve a gun from a storm drain.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 16 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold the whole of 16 Bates NW to Wilhelmina and William U. Scott.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Scotts borrowed $5,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• August 1962 the Scotts were released from their mortgage owning their home free and clear.
• October 1975 received a loan for $4,250 from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development.

Well. This one was very different. The Scotts bought the whole house, paid it off and owned it for most of their lives. Wilhelmina died in 2008, but a few years before she passed there was a Power of Attorney signed over to her nephew. So it turned out well.

The Scotts were hard to pin down. I discovered Wilhelmina’s maiden name, Pitt. She and William must have married after 1940. In the 1940 census she was living with her mother and siblings, who were named in her obituary, in Cecil, MD working as a parlor maid. There were two or more William U. Scotts. I did find a valveman William “A” Scott with a wife named Wilhelmina in the 1933 DC city directory. However, there were several William Scotts throughout the world married to women named Wilhelmina.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 65 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 65 Bates NW to Alice N. and Wilston S. DeVaughn.
• Dec 1950 the DeVaughns borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 65 Bates St NW to Louis J. and Martha J. Peace.
• Dec 1950 the Peaces borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• July 1952 the DeVaughns lost their half to foreclosure and through an auction the property returned to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• October 1952 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed unit to Arabella and James E. Byrnes.
• Oct 1952 the Byrnes borrowed $3,148.95 from Levin and Weightman.
• Oct 1952 the Peaces lost their half to foreclosure and Evans, Levin and Taube repossessed the property with an auction.
• November 1952 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the unit to Ralph and Vera A. Wright.
• Nov 1952 the Wrights borrowed $3,164.38 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
• April 1956 the Byrnes sold their unit back to the Colonial Investment Co. represented by Harry A. Badt, Evans and Taube. The document noted that James E. Byrnes died February 3, 1955. They were released from their mortgage March 1959.
• May 1957 the Wrights lost their half to foreclosure. Through an auction the property was repossessed by Badt, Evans, and Taube, thus bringing the whole house back under the ownership of the Colonial Investment Co.
• May 1957 Harry and Jennie Badt transferred/sold some or all of their interest in the property to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
• March 1959 (doc #1959019387) Badt, Evans, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors, their spouses sold this and several other Truxton Circle properties to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• Between 1971-1972 Basiliko was released from three mortgages and the next document has the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) as the owner, so we are left to assume around 1970 Basiliko sold the property to RLA.
• Around 1978 the DC RLA sold/transferred this and other properties to the Bates Street Associates. A contract (doc #7800024140) DC RLA and Bates Street Associates, Inc hints to a deed I cannot find.

There were several foreclosures and a selling back. This makes me question the original motives of Colonial Investment Co. This fits the pattern of foreclosure followed by George Basiliko, followed by DC RLA then followed by the Bates Street Associates. Continue reading WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 65 Bates Street NW